Keri Gaither in the Calihan Hall on the campus of University of Detroit Mercy. / Stephen McGee, USA TODAY Sports

by Carlos Monarrez, USA TODAY Sports

by Carlos Monarrez, USA TODAY Sports

A former Detroit Mercy basketball assistant coach gives details about an alleged culture of harassment within the athletic department, players listening in on the athletic director and another assistant coach having an extramarital affair at team hotels, and inaction by the university to stop it all in a lawsuit he filed against the school.

Carlos Briggs, in a suit filed Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, contends he was defamed and fired after he filed a whistleblower report in August with the school about athletic director Keri Gaither and basketball assistant Derek Thomas.

On Oct. 31, UDM said Gaither and Thomas had resigned, effective immediately, to pursue other interests. Briggs said he was fired the next day.

Briggs is suing UDM, Gaither and Mort Meisner, a media consultant for the school. He seeks damages greater than $25,000, the minimum for a suit in the court. Attorney Michael Stefani represents him and said Thursday that his client also wanted to change how UDM dealt with whistleblowers.

"He wants to see the university change its policy in regard to how it handles matters submitted over (its) whistleblower website," said Stefani, who represented Detroit police officers against Kwame Kilpatrick, then Detroit's mayor, in a whistleblower suit that resulted in an $8.4-million out-of-court settlement. "He wants to see the policy change with respect to how information is ignored by the university - I'm not saying all the time.

But the university is built on a principle of integrity and honesty and for years graduates of the university have prided themselves on those principles. And in this particular case, they didn't. They wanted to close something up, and even at the cost of depriving what I believe to be a really fine gentleman his job."

Stefani said that Briggs earned, with benefits, more than $100,000 annually, but that he probably would never coach in college again.

"Even when he wins this suit," Stefani said, "it will still be a cloud hanging over him as a result of the university's actions."

Schools officials have declined repeatedly to comment on the departures, saying UDM could not discuss personnel matters. Gaither and Thomas have not returned requests for comment since the fall. Meisner declined comment Thursday.

The lawsuit paints a dire and sometimes vindictive picture of Gaither, Thomas and Meisner.

During road games, according to the suit: "On occasion, players would observe Thomas slip into Gaither's hotel room after the team's curfew, causing the player to leave their rooms to go stand outside the door to Gaither's room, giggling while they listened to the sounds of Gaither and Thomas apparently having sex."

The suit says complaints from "outraged" parents followed and Gaither "instituted an unwritten policy of openly showing favoritism" to players "keeping quiet about her sexual relationship..â?¦ Gaither's policy of favoritism and unfair punishment caused dissension within the basketball program."

"I think they were concerned about the university's image," Stefani said, "and they ended up firing the athletic director and the coach that was involved, and then they turned around and fired him..â?¦

"They wanted to sort of nip it in the bud by being able to say that they were justified in terminating him and this is sour grapes on his part. But that will all come out. I have a lot of confidence in the legal system. It will come out."